Wheeler surprises cyclists with visit
CYCLISTS in Bridgend enjoyed a surprise visit from a VIP last week – a Very Important Puppy.
Wheeler, a five-monthold black Labrador, is well on his way to becoming a guide dog after members of the Ogmore Valley Wheelers cycling club helped to fund his training.
Members had the chance to check his progress when he visited a club meeting at Gilead Chapel Hall, Coity.
Fundraising began last summer, when club mem- ber Keith Barrett, from Corntown, completed a 320-mile sponsored ride from Paris to Swansea on a tandem piloted by fellow cyclist Andy Harries.
Keith, a piano tuner, has been blind since he was a baby.
“Being blind means I’ve faced many challenges in my life and this cycle ride was one of the biggest,” he said. “Guide dogs changed my life. I was 18 when I had my first, and now I’m on my fifth, Lena.
“The service receives no government funding and I just wanted to give something back.
“We needed to raise £5,000 to name a puppy. Wheeler was the obvious choice, as none of this would have been possible without the Ogmore Val- ley Wheelers, especially Andy.”
The total was boosted by a club quiz night at Gilead Chapel Hall in Coity, a shopping centre collection and a number of one-off donations, including £300 from regulars at the Blacksmiths Arms in Llanmaes.
Wheeler is currently living in Porth with volunteer puppy walker Elaine Francis, who will teach him basic good behaviour and introduce him to busy and challenging environments, such as shops, buses and trains.
The cycling club will receive regular updates on his progress, plus photographs, as he trains to become a fully-fledged guide dog.
To find out how to get involved with a guide dog puppy and track its progress, contact frank. greig@ guidedogs. org. uk or ring Frank on 07766 367081.